Old Enemies
by meanbow
Summary: The return of an old enemy to Chicago signals the start of another adventure for Rally and company, however this time...she's working on their side!


**Gunsmith Cats: Old enemies, new friends**

**By meanbow**

This is my third 'gunsmith cats' fanfic story. Again, I'd like to point out that I don't own any of the 'gunsmith cats' characters, they are owned by kenichi sonoda, except the characters that I create. Just so that this story makes sense, it is set 2 years after 'the unusual suspect' so remember that the main characters are all 2 years older. I'm also brining in a character from the Gunsmith Cats Anime.

**Return of an old adversary**

A figure, Shackled and 'cuffed, was walking slowly down the long, cold prison corridor. She was surrounded on both sides by a prison guard. This was the known norm for Arlene Davenport since her capture by Rally Vincent, one of Chicago's best bounty hunters, over 2 years ago.

The first guard stopped the woman as they approached the waiting room door.

"Wait here" he went, holding her back using his nightstick as a barrier.

"Huh, like I'm going anywhere…" she snidely replied.

The guard just looked at her.

Then he turned his attention to the door in front of him, and used his stick to knock.

The sound of a large key turning in a lock was heard, and then the door opened.

A man dressed in a business suit and holding a briefcase was waiting in the room with another guard and a scruffily dressed man in an old trench coat.

Arlene looked at the first man, and a small smile crept across her face.

"Hello Arlene, how have they been treating you lately?" he asked

"What? Can't you tell by looking?" she replies as she shuffles into the room, then sits down on the wooden chair in front of the table in the middle of the room.

"So, what is my state appointed lawyer doing here then? Miss me or something? And who is he?" she drawls the words off her lips.

"This man is ATF Agent Bill Collins, and…well…actually I am here to offer you a chance to redeem yourself. It seems that there is something that you can do that may be of use to the state." He goes.

"Look, Mr Cameron. I don't want to sound rude, but there is NO WAY I am going to accept anything that can turn me to a state witness" she snaps back angrily.

"I never said anything about state witness, Ms Davenport. Now do you wish to hear Agent Collins out, or is our little session here over?"

She folded her arms as best she could and went silent.

"Very well, I take it you wish to hear him out then." Mr Cameron went, and then signalled to the guard to leave the room.

The guard left the room, and closed the door behind him.

Arlene had a little shock when that happened, and went "HUH?"

"What I am about to say is for your ears only, Ms Davenport. Is that understood?" Bill said, as he pulled a cigarette out from a pack in his pocket, put it in his mouth and lit it

She nods her head slowly, then says "yes"

Bill stood up and walked around to the same side as Arlene, then pulled out a small key from his pocket, inserts the small key into the handcuffs and opens them.

"What's all this then?" she goes

Bill just went and sat back down on the edge of the table.

"Better?" he asked

She nodded.

"Good…" he went " read this"

Mr Cameron pulled his briefcase over and opened it up. Inside was a small manila folder, which he passed to Arlene.

"The man you are looking at in the photo is one Ricardo Jones, who has lived in the United States for a few years. It is believed that he has been singularly responsible for the current batch of high-grade drugs and illegal shipments of counterfeit Whiskey and Guns infesting the state." Bill went

"And I care…why?" she replies

"You care…because if you help us to find out where he operates from, then both the FBI and us at the ATF are willing to overlook your **coughs**previous activities and wipe the slate clean. We are even willing to help you with a new identity afterwards, if you want it." Bill cuts in and says nonchalantly.

"What do I have to do then?" Arlene asks of him

"Simple, Ms Davenport. Mr Jones also has a passion about cars, and acquiring them. Word is he is currently in the market for the best car 'booster' available, and that's you…" he went "He's looking to get a collection of American muscle cars, to ship home to Cuba, and that's where you come in. you get out of here. You work for us as an undercover agent, acquiring the cars on his list. Gain his trust, get him to tell you what we need to know, then we move in and get him and the merchandise."

"What about local police?" she asks

"The only people who know in the local police are the ones currently investigating him alongside us and the FBI, and the chief of the Chicago P.D" he replies "they won't be able to help you, so you will need to be careful."

"K, I'm in. how soon can I get out of here?"

"How fast can you pack your personal belongings?"

"As fast as you can get these shackles off my feet" she went.

**Chicago, here I come.**

The gates of the Illinois State Women's Correctional Facility slowly shut behind her, and Arlene stood there with a box containing her personal effects, wearing the same clothes that she was arrested in 2 years ago, with a slight difference.

In the two years that she had been 'inside', she had grown her hair a little bit, it was now shoulder length, and pulled back into a ponytail

"Shall we go, Ms Davenport?" her lawyer, Mr Cameron said to her, then proceeded to the visitor's car park.

Bill walked past her, and said "Seeya at the station, pussycat" then got into his old Dodge sedan and headed for Chicago

Arlene stood there for a few minutes, looking around at the scenery. It made a change to see everything without having to look through security fences and bars on your cell window.

A car pulled up in front of her, Mr Cameron was driving.

"A '99 Corvette ZR1. NICE" she went, listening to the engine ticking over whisper quietly.

"So glad you approve, Ms Davenport. Now get in or start walking"

The scenery was whizzing by the window of the corvette. Arlene was enjoying the feeling of being free again. Free. A simple four letter word that held so much meaning.

"So…where are we going to then?" she asks her lawyer.

"Well, first off, we need to get you properly briefed. Then we need to establish a means for you to contact us. The rest is up to you."

"Briefed huh? Why does it sound like I'm going back to school?" she replies.

"That's because you are…in a way" Mr Cameron went.

"GREAT, I hated school. I learnt what I needed to know on the streets" Arlene went, turning her head back to face the side window.

"Sorry kid. But this lesson is compulsory" He went, and then turned his attention back to the road.

At the police station, Rally was hauling in another bail jumper who had tried his luck and ran, and seeing as he was caught, failed miserably.

"I hate bail jumpers, May. When are we going to get a real challenge again?" She asks her short blonde sidekick, not really expecting an answer.

May just slurped up some of her take-away drink.

"Dunno, when some real criminals get back in town?" she says after swallowing it down.

"What d'ya mean real criminals? I AM A REAL CRIMINAL!" goes the man in custody.

"Shut it you." Goes rally, pushing him towards the desk sergeant on duty "before you get in some real trouble…"

The sergeant looks up and says to the two girls approaching "another one eh? How many is that this week then?"

"4 not counting our friend here" she replies.

"Another $750 in the bank then?"

"Yeah, pays the bills for a few days at least…"Rally trails off as she saw someone she recognised out of the corner of her eye "…NO WAY!"

Rally grabbed May by the coat sleeve and pulled her down to the ground, then whipped out her CZ-75, cocked and loaded it in one movement, then stood up and aimed it in the direction she saw that person.

Upon doing that, a few civilians started to panic, diving for cover and screaming. A load of police officers pulled their guns and aimed them at rally, and the individuals pointed out by her.

Rally shouted, "That woman is dangerous! Arrest her!"

Arlene, Bill Collins and Mr Cameron were stopped in the lobby, surrounded by armed police officers, targeted by an armed bounty hunter and surrounded by a large civilian population.

There was a deadly silence in the main lobby, apart from a quiet "hey there…Kitten" from Bill, clicking and pointing his finger as he recognised the woman with the gun

Arlene looked at the woman targeting her with a gun, and recognising her, remembered what she said to that woman 2 years ago…

"…I want your life…"

Their stares were unwavering, if looks could kill, then they would both have been dead.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?"

A voice boomed from up on the first floor balcony. It was police chief Anderson, followed closely by a man in a grey suit and sunglasses.

The chief walked down stairs to the main lobby and goes up to Rally with hatred burning in his eyes.

"I HOPE…for your sake, Miss Vincent, you have a DAMN GOOD EXCUSE FOR THIS…" he literally spits the words in Rally's face.

Rally lowers her gun, puts the safety on and looks at chief Anderson.

"That woman over there…" she goes, pointing in Arlene's direction "made a threat on my life two years ago, after I put her away. She's obviously…" she starts, but the chief wasn't buying it.

"Miss Vincent…your gun, please" he went, interrupting her and holding his hand out.

She looks at her gun, then at the chief. She obliges him and hands her gun over.

" I think…miss Vincent… that you need to go somewhere to think" he says, and then signals to nearby officers, who come over and grab Rally by the arms.

"Take miss Vincent to a cell to think about the insane stunt she just pulled in a police station, boys"

The two officers escorted Rally off to the cells, then the chief walked back over to the man in the suit, Arlene, Bill and Mr Cameron.

"STAND DOWN, MEN" he bellowed.

A massive clicking of safety's being applied to various guns sounded, and things began to return to normal.

May stood up slowly, and looked at what was happening over by the stairs, taking a slurp of her drink whilst watching.

The chief put his hands on the shoulders of Arlene and Mr Cameron, then led them up the stairs, followed closely by Bill Collins and the man in the grey suit and sunglasses.

"AHH, Miss Hopkins, you need to sign the forms now, since your friend has been detained" went the desk sergeant.

May followed the group up to the chief's office on the first floor with her eyes, slurping on her drink all the while.

"MISS HOPKINS!" she turned around to the sergeant "you need to sign these…" he went, passing the forms on a clipboard to her.

May put her drink down on his desk, and without even looking at the sergeant, took the clipboard from him and signed her name.

' I wonder what she's doing out?' she thinks to herself, then proceeds to give the clipboard back to the desk sergeant and picked her drink back up.

"AWW shoot! Empty!" she goes as she picked it back up and felt the lack of refreshment in it.

"So, miss Hopkins." Goes the desk sergeant "I suppose you're going to need somewhere to wait for your partner, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess"

The sergeant pointed to the benches where they seat the prisoners awaiting processing.

"That's the best I can offer you at the moment, sorry"

"No problem. Hey…good job I got my own 'cuffs eh? I can use the rings then!" she went jokingly, then walked over to the benches and sat down to wait.

**Unlikely Allies**

Up in the chief's office, FBI agent Donovan Smith was finishing off his mission briefing.

"Now you do understand the risk involved in this mission, miss Davenport?"

"Yeah, course I do, dummy. I just want to get back on the streets again" she retorts

"I been looking after myself for years, with a little help, why should now be any different?"

"Because before you weren't acting as an undercover operative for the FBI" went Agent Smith, removing his sunglasses and looking at her directly.

"Or for the ATF" added Bill

"You will be monitored at all times whilst out working for us…" Smith went, and then pulled a tagging anklet out of his pocket.

"No way am I wearing that…" she starts to protest

"Then you are not needed for this mission. Mr Cameron, thank you for your help, but I think we need to find another 'booster'. Please take miss Davenport back to the State Correctional Facility…"

Arlene stood up and snatched the tagging device off Agent Smith.

"…But I suppose I can make an exception in this case." She went, looking at the device.

Agent Smith stands up, looks at her, and then shakes his head.

"THAT isn't for you…" he went, and then pulled a small silver bracelet out of a different pocket "this is" he said

"I bought that out to show you what the differences are between a standard tag device and the one we had made for you…everything that is inside this…" he went, taking the big tagging anklet off her again and holding it next to the little silver bracelet "…Has been packed inside this"

"But it looks like a bracelet" she replied

"Exactly! They will never know it is a tracking device, meaning we can always know where you are at any given moment, and can send assistance to you in minutes if needed" Agent Smith sounded pleased at that. "I helped design it, it uses state-of-the-art Nan-technology and microprocessor based wireless GPS to pinpoint it's exact location to within mere millimetres"

Agent Smith put the big tagging anklet back in his pocket, then presses a secret little button on the bracelet so it opens up.

"Your wrist please, miss Davenport" he asks her politely.

She raises her right arm in his direction; Agent Smith then puts the bracelet on her wrist and shuts it with a tiny click.

"That's it, all done" he went "the rest will be left up to you."

"In that case then, I need to ask a favour straight off the bat…" she goes, looking at the chief.

Rally was sitting down on the bench in the communal cell, looking at the floor, where they housed all the various female criminals.

Prostitutes, druggies, baby-snatchers and petty thieves.

And also a bounty hunter who pissed the police chief off.

A figure approached the cell doors, with a guard standing next to her.

"IN!" goes the guard, opening the cell door and pushing the girl in.

The guard just slides the door shut again when she's inside.

"There's been a mistake, I swear it!" she says, but is ignored.

"Yeah right Hun…" goes one of the girls "it's always 'a mistake' when they pick us up"

The other girls start laughing and then go back to their meaningless conversations.

The new girl turns around and looks at her fellow cellmates, then sees the one she's looking for.

She walks up to the woman staring at the floor and says "Hey…Rally?"

With that, Rally looks up and sees who's talking to her.

"YOU!" she seethes, then leaps up at her like a madwoman, knocking Arlene to the floor.

"YOU WANT MY LIFE HUH? NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!" Rally's eyes were filled with hate.

"PLEASE, STOP IT RALLY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I SWEAR!" Arlene replies, trying to get her arms free from rally's grip, which was pinning her down to the ground.

Rally looks at her, still angry.

"I swear it rally. I was angry, upset, and mad. I used you to take my guilt and frustration out on. I'm so sorry I said that to you. It's been tearing me up inside while I've been 'inside'. Not knowing if you would ever accept an apology. If you still want to kill me, then I don't blame you. But please know that I am truly sorry."

Rally loosens her grip on Arlene's arms, and then gets up off the floor. Arlene sits back up and starts to sniff, then wipes a tear from her eye.

She looked at this woman on the floor in front of her now, totally different from the one she bought in 2 years ago. Maybe something HAD changed her, or maybe it was an act.

But rally's face softened, and she helped her up.

"So, what are you doing out then?" Rally asked, slightly edgy

"I'm on probation. I've been good 'inside' and they judged me to no longer be a threat" Arlene went, sniffing and wiping more tears away.

"Then who were those men you were with in the lobby, along with the chief and that slime ball ATF agent?" she asks

Arlene had to think about that, and then said "my probation officer and lawyer"

"Must have a damn good lawyer to be able to see the chief" Rally mumbles

Then a voice from the doorway calls out their names.

"Davenport, Vincent. Let's go. You're out of here"

**Making up is hard to do**

The two girls leave the cell together, hardly speaking, but both reaching an understanding.

"So, keep out of trouble then while you're out, or I'll have to come after you again" goes Rally.

"Umm, wait…rally. Can I ask you something?" Arlene says, looking at her. Rally just keeps her back to her.

"What?"

"Do you know anywhere that I can stay for a few days, just 'til I get my own place?"

Rally sighs, then goes "UHHHH"

'Why do I always do these things?' she thought to herself 'first May, then Misty, and now this girl'

"I need to talk to a 'friend' of mine first, I may know of somewhere, but I'm not promising anything" she goes.

"Thank you…" Arlene goes softly.

Rally walks off up the corridor to the main lobby stairs, followed by Arlene, who kept a respectable few steps behind her.

May was sitting on the processing bench, waiting for Rally to be released.

A police officer comes over and sits a man down next to her on the bench, then secures his hands to the bench via the rings sticking up from the sides.

"Sit there and keep quiet," he's told.

May glanced at the man quickly, and noticed he was only wearing a long raincoat.

'Great, just what this city needs, another pervy flasher' she thought.

The man looked at her and said, " Do you want to see something, my pretty?"

May turned to face him slowly, looked at the perverted expression on his face and went "Do YOU still want to have all your body parts intact?"

With that, May turned fully toward the man, and started to slowly lift her jacket open.

The man started to bounce uncontrollably on the bench, thinking May was going to show him something.

She did.

Hanging from the inside of her jacket, May showed the man her various grenades.

He stopped bouncing.

"Now keep quiet, or else you won't have anything left to play with, my pretty!" she went.

The man now had a terrified expression on his face.

Then the police officer came over and undid the pervert from the ring, and stood him up.

"She's got bombs! She's got bombs!" the man went, turning his head towards May as he was led away.

May just smiled and waved "bye bye"

The man was lead down the passageway, still shouting, "She's got bombs!"

Rally and Arlene stood next to the wall as officers walked the man past them.

Rally turned to her and went "stay HERE…I'll call you in a minute"

With that, Rally headed around the corner and back into the lobby.

"RALLY!" goes May, as she see's her coming out of the passageway that led to the cells.

"Hey May, did you sort out the bounty?" she asks

"Yup! But is that all you ever think about. Money?"

"Course not. Keeping my car on the road is more important than money…" she replied "it just takes money to keep a car like mine on the road, that's all"

"You weren't kept long this time, what'cha do? Flash the guard if he'd let you out?" May went sarcastically, because of the person she just dealt with.

"Nothing of the sort! They just let me and someone else out. That's all"

"You and…someone else?" went May, puzzled by rally's choice of words

"Yes, someone else" she replied, then said "Arlene Davenport"

"IT WAS HER THEN!" went May, "what's she doing out? Has she come to get you like she promised? Maybe she's come to put another slug in my OTHER arm this time!"

"No May, she hasn't come to get me, or you for that fact. I was just talking to her in the cells. She's out on probation"

Rally then goes on and says, " she needs somewhere to stay, and I wanted to check with you first."

"Rally…are you crazy! She stole your identity for a few hours, first tried to JAIL You, then tried to KILL you, shot ME and nearly made us BANKRUPT!" May went with an angry tone to her voice.

"EXACTLY!" went Rally " But if she stays with us; then first off we know where she is, secondly she can't try it again and thirdly, as the old saying goes 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer'"

Rally looked back to the passageway, May looked nervously around rally at the passageway.

"Arlene, come here please" Rally calls.

She walks slowly out from the passageway into the main lobby, heading towards the two girls.

She looked almost exactly as she did two years ago, the same suit taken from rally's clothes collection, and a pair of rally's shoes (ones she never wore as she didn't like them), the only real difference being slightly longer hair. And agent Smith's 'addition' to her ensembles.

"Hello there again, May" went Arlene sheepishly.

"Rally may have forgiven you, but I won't so easily," retorts May "you deceived me, played me for an idiot, and then to top it all, shot me. Do you know how long it was before I could use my arm properly again?"

Arlene shook her head slowly

"6 months. And I still have the mark where the bullet went in now" May finished

"Please May. I never meant for the bullet to hit you. It was an accident. I just wanted to scare you away." She replies

"Yeah right…" was mumbled from May's lips.

The desk sergeant called over to the small group "Miss Vincent…I have your gun here…"

"Thanks" she went, then turned around and went over to his desk to retrieve it, leaving May and Arlene staring at each other.

Rally signed for her gun, and then turned to the two women behind her.

"You coming or what?" she calls, as she heads towards the doors of the station.

May turned on her boots heels, and then headed after Rally, Arlene held back for a second, but then started after them, picking her box of effects up from the desk sergeant on her way out

From up in the Chief's office, Agent Bill Collins pushed the blind's aside and looked at the 3 women walking out of the station

"Take care now…Kittens" he said, then let go of the blinds

**Old favours called in**

Outside of the station, Rally's cobra was parked in amongst all the police cruisers, motorcycles and traffic warden carts.

Rally headed straight for her car, may and their 'new friend' followed suit, May holding the front passenger seat forward so Arlene could get in, before slamming it back and getting in herself.

The cobra started with a resounding roar

BRRRRRRRMMMMM!

Rally slammed the car into Reverse, and then pulled out quickly into traffic, slamming it back into first to pull away.

It was a silent drive to Rally's house, apart from the music quietly coming out of the radio

None of them wanted to talk to the other, afraid of starting an argument.

They arrived home. Arlene made an observation.

"Hasn't changed a bit, has it?"

"I like it the way it is" replied Rally "why change what works?"

The two girls in the front got out, Arlene pushed the passenger seat forward again so she could get out.

They headed for the front door.

Rally opened the door and went in, followed by the others.

"The guest bedroom is upstairs, at the end of the corridor" she goes to Arlene "and I suppose it'll be alright to go through my clothes for now, but check with me first"

"Thank you Rally, and you May" she went softly, then proceeded up the stairs to her temporary appointed room with her box of effects.

In that room, she went through the box.

A purse with 6 different drivers licences in, around $56 in notes, some loose change and a few photo's, as well as her fawn coloured leather jacket with its secret pocket.

She put the jacket on, slipped her purse in her pocket and then went back down the stairs.

"I need to go out for a few hours, so I know where I am" she went.

Rally was in the kitchen, she heard what was said and shouted back "TAKE A CELLPHONE WITH YOU, THERE'S A SPARE ON THE TABLE"

Rally thought to herself 'if you have that, then I know I can get hold of you, or get Becky to trace its location'

"K rally, I will" she called back, then grabbed the phone and headed back out of the door.

"Where d'ya suppose she's off to?" asks May, who was busy helping Rally to make some dinner.

A few bus rides later, Arlene arrived at a small back street garage, which she had found out an old friend from her past owned.

She walked in, and the place looked empty, apart from a few cars here and there, so she walked over to the counter and rang the bell.

"Yeah yeah, just a minute…" someone said from under a car.

Arlene looked, and then walked over to a pair of legs that were sticking out from under a 1980 Cadillac Seville.

"Still up to your neck in it then eh Jim?" she went

There was a loud thud noise and an "OWWW!" from under the car, then the dolly slid back to reveal a man, dressed in a boiler suit covered in grease and oil, and now rubbing his head from the knocking he just received.

The man named James stood up with the aid of a crutch and looked at Arlene

He was easily 6' tall with a half decent physique under that baggy suit.

"Arlene Davenport?" he went "…I heard you got caught and went down"

"Yeah well, I got offered a deal…I need your help James."

"NO!" he went straight away "I got out of driving and buying and selling boosted cars a few years ago. I'm clean now, so are Ron and Kim, and I want it to stay that way."

"Whoever said anything about buying and selling boosted cars?" Arlene went dryly

"I just need a set of wheels for myself, that's all"

"Then why not go pinch a set then?" he remarked

"Because I'm out on parole…" she went, not telling the truth again about why she was really out "…so I need a set of wheels legally. Have you got any 'James specials'?"

" I got one here, but it's not finished…" he went "…if I had help, then maybe it could be finished"

"Show me" she replied

With that, James limped towards the back of the garage, where there was something covered over in tarpaulin, Arlene followed him.

He grabbed the tarpaulin by the corner and pulled it off, revealing a very sporty looking little car.

"NICE!" she went

It was a small Red Honda CRX, with a few modifications.

The car was ready to road race, with a full internal roll cage, NOS set-up covered up by the passenger seat, Recaro race seats with four point harnesses, snap off steering wheel boss, internal and external red neon's, twin exiting exhaust ports, 16" DTM alloy wheels with big brake conversion behind them, the car was lowered down on top of them, and a large air scoop stuck out through the front of the bumper.

He opened the bonnet to show a highly modified engine bay, with strut bar supports, highly polished engine covers, and a supercharger set-up (the large air scoop that was sticking out of the front)

Arlene just whistled and went "Now that is an engine"

"Yeah, But it don't run yet. There's a fault on the wiring harness, and I just haven't had the time to find it, even with Kim and Ron's help, what with all these customers cars to fix." James replied.

"It was to be my hobby car, but I can't drive it right now. I just can't get in it" He said, "Not since the accident have I been able to drive properly"

"Accident?" Arlene went, looking at him

"I'd rather not talk about it, but if you can get this car running, you can have it"

"Well don't just stand there, give me a boiler suit then!" she went.

It was late evening in Chicago, and there had been no sign of their new houseguest for a few hours.

"Where is she?" went rally "I hope she's not back doing what she does"

May just sat on the couch, watching TV

Getting up from the chair, Rally went and picked up her cell phone and dialled the number of the one taken by Arlene.

The answering machine came in straight away.

"DAMNIT!" She went, then walked over to the front door and flung it open. She was about to put a pair of shoes on and grab her coat, when she heard an unusual noise coming towards the house, a loud but low roar.

"What's that noise?" went May, as it was getting louder than the TV.

Then a small red car appeared over the brow of the hill further up the road.

Rally looked in shock as she could just make out the driver.

The car got closer, then pulled in to the driveway next to Rally's cobra.

The engine was gargling away, the supercharger was shut down at the moment, and so it was a muffled roar emanating from under the bonnet.

Arlene was sitting in the driver's seat with a massive smile on her face, illuminated by the red neon's inside the car.

Rally came storming over to the car with the look of horror on her face.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" she went "…YOU'VE RIPPED OFF A CAR! GIVE ME ONE REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T CALL THE COPS RIGHT NOW!"

Arlene switched the engine off and smiled at Rally, then proceeded to get out of the car with a small bunch of keys in her right hand.

"Because it's mine…" Arlene went, then pulled the pink slip out of her pocket and shoved it in Rally's hands.

Rally looked at the document, and then the car.

"That is yours?" she asked dumbfounded, Arlene just nodded.

"You don't think I'd be dull enough to rip off a car like this now, do you? I mean, it's too obvious" she replied

"Well…where did you get it from then?" Rally was dumbfounded at this.

"From a friend of mine who owed me a favour, probably the best car jock in the state" she went, then finished off by saying "now if you don't mind, I'm knackered and am going to my room. See you in the morning"

With that, Arlene headed in to the house and went upstairs to her room.

Just up the road from Rally's house, an unmarked Chevy van with recording equipment inside was listening in. Bill smirked as he heard the conversation

"Heh, we got us a live one here Don" he commented to Agent Smith

"Indeed we have, Bill. You made a good call on pulling her from prison for this" Don replied

**The list**

It was 11 am the next day, and Arlene was driving her new car down the Chicago Boulevard, heading towards a pre-arranged meeting with Agent Smith at the local drive-in.

She pulled in to the drive-in, and looked for a blacked out Ford Explorer.

She spotted it parked up in the corner of the drive-in, away from the main lot.

With that, she parked up next to it, and then wound down the window and tapped on the glass.

The window on the Explorer went down, and agent smith was seated in the driver's side, with an unidentified male passenger in the other seat.

"Ms Davenport, so glad you kept our meeting today" Smith went with no emotion in his voice.

"Can it Smith, you got what I need to know?" she went

"This is Alan Tad, he's your contact and our agent in Jones' organisation. He has your list of vehicles for Mr Jones."

"Hi" he called over to her, and gave a little wave.

'GREAT' she thought 'a guy who thinks he's it'

Mr Tad got out of the Explorer and walked around to the CRX's passenger side. "Where do I sit then?" he asked

She pointed at the seat.

"And be careful climbing into this car"

He opened the door and climbed over the roll bar and into the seat.

"Well then…" he started "I have the list of cars to be acquired for Mr Jones"

Alan Tad went into his pocket and pulled a folded piece of paper out, and passed it to Arlene.

"Mr Jones also wishes to meet you as soon as possible, I was instructed to take you to him"

'Great' she went to herself.

All the while she had been talking to Agent Smith and Mr Tad, a female figure wearing sunglasses, was sitting in a Shelby cobra watching what was happening.

The Honda CRX pulled off from the parking bay slowly, moving out onto the boulevard again.

The woman in the cobra started it up and followed the CRX at a distance.

Under the instruction of Mr Tad, Arlene drove to the very executive and upmarket area of Chicago, one of the very posh suburbs that were home to the rich and powerful.

The cobra followed closely at a safe distance.

The little CRX pulled up at a set of large gates to a mansion house, which opened up to them, then proceeded up the driveway to the house.

The woman parked the cobra up over the road, in a position to see what was going on.

She then pulled out her cell phone and called someone.

"Rebecca Farrah's residence, who's calling please?"

"Becky, it's Rally. Can you do a quick search for me on an address please?"

"Umm, yeah course I can rally, what's the address?"

"It's 4681 Western Avenue, in Arlington heights"

"Hold on, I'm checking now…right, I think I got it, it's owned by one Ricardo Jones, supposed businessman. Why do you want that rally?" Becky asks

" I've been following my new houseguest…and that's where she is now," replies Rally

Inside the house, Arlene was introduced to Ricardo Jones

"Ahh, Ms Davenport, so glad to finally meet you. I heard so many good things about your reputation, and how well you can pull off these 'boosts' for me"

"Mr Jones, thank you. I hope that you have everything I need?" she went

"Yes, Ms Davenport. I have arranged for all the tools you will need to be delivered to you" Ricardo snapped his fingers, and a stockily built man appeared with a small leather pouch in his hands.

Arlene took the pouch from the man and opened it up, checking the contents.

A set of lock picks, a steering column ignition tool, blank keys, a scanner for more modern cars, and a pair of leather gloves.

"Excellent" she went, holding the ignition tool and checking it worked.

"Then I trust you can 'acquire' these cars for me then without much hassle?" he asks.

Until then, Arlene hadn't looked at the list, so she put down the tool, and pulled the paper out of her pocket and opened it and started to read down

Dodge Challenger R/T

Ford Mustang Boss

Plymouth Hemi 'cuda

Chevrolet Camero Yenco S/C

Oldsmobile 442

Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454

Shelby Mustang GT500

Pontiac GTO

Arlene looked at the list, and sighed.

"Yeah, I can get 'em, but some are harder to find than others, like the Yenco and the Shelby" she went.

"That is not my problem, Ms Davenport, that is yours" Jones went

Arlene just shook her head, knowing it would be difficult to fulfil this list easily.

"And now, if you don't mind, Ms Davenport…I am an extremely busy man, Alan will show you the way out. I expect you to contact me in a week, telling me you have the cars and when I can expect them to come into my possession. Good day."

Mr Jones turned and headed out of the room, and the stockily built man stood in the doorway that he left through.

"Let's go" Alan went to Arlene, and started to walk towards the front door. She followed him and was taken back to her car.

Outside the mansion, Alan went "I'll be in contact with you soon, but in the meantime, I suggest you start scouting these cars and acquiring them. Mr Jones is a very nice man when he want's to be, but can be ruthless as well. If he wants them in a week, then you have a week, no more, no less, or else you'll find yourself being fitted with a pair of concrete shoes. Is that understood?"

Arlene just gulped, and then nodded slowly.

'What have I volunteered for?' she thought to herself.

She started the car up, and drove slowly towards the gates.

Outside the gates, Rally saw the CRX coming and started her cobra up.

The little CRX headed off down the road, followed by Rally in her car.

Rally made her move, making the more powerful cobra accelerate after the CRX quickly, then slowing down and flashing the car's headlights at the car in front.

Arlene saw the movement behind her, and looked in the mirror.

"NO!" she went, recognising the car instantly.

With that thought ringing in her head, Arlene engaged the supercharger with a flick of a switch and floored the CRX.

The little car's massively over-tuned engine roared at the sudden power rush, making it accelerate very quickly. So quickly it surprised Rally, and all she could do was watch it accelerate away from her with a large flame shooting out of the twin exhausts.

"Don't worry, Arlene. I know that you have to come back to my place. I'll be waiting" smirked Rally

"**Why didn't you tell us?"**

Arlene drove around the city for a few hours, making sure she wasn't being followed by Rally in her cobra.

It was early evening now, the city lights were on, and the sun was setting.

She assumed it was safe to return to her temporary home.

It was ½ an hour later that she pulled up outside rally's house. There were no lights on, or any sign of either of their cars.

'Good, no-ones home' she thought

Arlene proceeded to the door, and opened it with her key.

The house was in darkness; the only sound was May's homemade land-mine clock hanging on the wall.

'I'll just grab my stuff, and go'

The door closed behind her, and a familiar sound of a gun being cocked was heard from behind.

CLICK!

Arlene froze at the sound, too afraid to turn around to see who was pointing a gun at her.

"…And where were you going to in such a hurry earlier…Arlene Davenport?"

Rally's voice was unmistakeable, and serious.

"Yeah, I knew there was something up with you from the start…I just went along with this idea because of Rally, NOT you" another unmistakeable voice, May, went.

"Please, don't hurt me. I swear I had my reasons." She replied nervously

"…Like?" went May, rather harshly

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try us" went rally, who had switched on a light now, and waved the gun towards the sofa, beckoning Arlene to sit.

After a lengthy story telling of her release from prison, the deal made with the FBI and the ATF, the reason she was at that house earlier on, and how they had come to this situation, Rally and May were looking at Arlene with a mixture of looks, ranging from surprise, to disbelief.

"So that's why you're out then…" went Rally "they need a car thief to bring this guy down because of his passion for muscle cars."

Arlene just nodded, and then went "and I am being tracked too, with an electronic tag so they can find out where I am."

"Why didn't you tell us this from the start? We could have helped you sooner, instead of getting yourself in deeper" Rally said, looking at the woman sitting in front of her.

"Like I said, you wouldn't have believed me, and I'm sure to get in trouble now with Agents Smith and Collins" She replied

Rally put the safety on, holstered the gun, stood up from the table and walked towards the window.

"No you won't…" she started "act like we don't know. We'll help you, but on our terms"

"Rally!" went May "are you suggesting for one minute that we become criminals?"

"No" Rally replied, "Were not going to break the law, just bend it a little. If the FBI is after this Ricardo Jones, then he must have one hell of a bounty on his head, but has so far been untouchable. We now have a way to get to him, and I'm not going to let it pass us by. I know someone who has the cars on this list of yours, I just need to 'persuade' him to let us borrow them for this little stunt. And I need you to contact Ken as well, May. We'll need his knowledge of electronics to get that tracking tag off her, to throw them a curveball while we take the guy down"

"YAY! I get to see my Kenny!" went May excitedly.

An hour later, and a few phone calls as well, Rally, May, Arlene, Ken Taki and the rather awesome figure of a man known as Bean Bandit were all gathered at Rally's place.

"So what is it that you want from me, Vincent?" goes Bean gruffly

"Basically…I need your cars Bean." She replied

"MY CARS? What for?"

"For this…" she goes, and then gives bean the manila folder with all the information in it on Ricardo Jones.

"HMM, I dealt with this guy Jones." Bean went, flicking quickly through it " He asked me a few weeks ago to do a run for him. I told him I don't do drugs anymore. He wasn't happy about that, and threatened me with his goons…"

"What happened then Bean?" asked May

" I beat the hell outta 6 guys of his, putting 4 in hospital, seriously injuring the other 2. He hasn't been back since" Bean smirked, thinking back to the night in question.

"And you need me because I know all about electronics. Am I right Rally?" asks Ken

"You got it babes" went May, winking at him

"Yes Ken. We need you to help us remove a complex tracking device from this young lady here" goes Rally, pointing at Arlene, who was pointing her first finger at the bracelet on her right arm.

"Shouldn't be too much of a problem to me. As long as I can see the circuitry, I should be able to remove it without triggering a warning signal" He went confidently

"Of course you can, Kenny" went May, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

He just placed his arm around her in return.

Bean looked at the scene and thought 'mushy stuff, and I ate not so long ago' to Himself.

"Let's see…" Bean started "I have nearly all the cars you want back at my lock-up, except for a cobra…" he then looked at Rally "and if I have to use my cars, then so do you Rally" he finished off.

"I expected that, bean. I know what cars you have, remember? I have seen your garage."

Arlene's eyes lit up at the mentioning of the word 'garage' "I want to see too" she went.

Bean looked at her sternly "NOT before you get that tracker off your wrist. I don't want anyone else knowing where my hideout is, understood?"

Bean's size made him menacing on it's own, but his tone also scared Arlene into nodding her head very fast and positively.

"Good" he went.

Ken sat opposite Arlene at rally's kitchen table, wearing a pair of glasses, with a set of micro-fine tools and a magnifying glass in front of him. He was examining the bracelet and it's internals.

"Not a bad piece of work this. Who made it?" he asked

"The FBI" she replied

"Figures they'd have that kind of funding to make a tracker as complex as this" he went, looking at the bracelets locking mechanism

"Can you do it, ken?" asks May

"Yeah, I can do it, bunny. It'll just take a bit longer than I thought" he replied, not looking up from the bracelet

"I need to create a bypass for the locking mech first, so it can be opened safely without setting off any warning alarms or triggering anything else. Kind of like a bomb trigger, I can bypass it and still keep it going so they don't get alerted to it's opening."

May just looked at ken and then the bracelet

"If that wasn't so loaded, it would be a nice piece of jewellery," she commented

"When I'm finished with it, THAT'S ALL it'll be!" he smirked, as he inserted a bypass wire into the GPS module

In the living room, Rally and Bean were going over the list of cars given to Arlene

"This guy's got taste, I'll give him that…" went Bean "some fine examples of American muscle there. Too bad all mine are modified for my purposes"

"They'll do bean, we just need to get inside this guys world for a few hours. If he thinks they are for him, then we are winning straight off"

"Aren't you worried about your cobra then?" Bean went, looking at her with a blank expression on his face

"Course I'm worried, but I'll be there when he gets brought down, and it'll be me who brings him down" she replied

"I can't be there, as he knows my face, but I'll be around for back-up if you need me"

"AWWW, Bean's worried about li'l old me…" Rally drawled

Bean looked at her with a stern look on his face

"Am I hell! I'm worried about my motors!"

"…And I thought you cared…" she mumbled

A loud "YES" was heard from the kitchen, and then Arlene emerged with a smile on her face, rubbing her right wrist.

Ken and May emerged a moment later, ken holding onto the bracelet in his right hand.

"Piece o' cake" he went, then got a kiss from May

**Assembling 'the crew'**

A few days passed by, and Arlene had been contacted by Mr Jones about 'his cars' to arrange a day and delivery time with her, and she had also been in contact with Agent Smith about how the operation was proceeding.

Rally, May and Arlene were at Becky's house, along with Misty Brown, trying on disguises for the operation. Ken was downstairs with Becky

"Do we have to?" went May

"Of course you do, dummy! You'd be recognised otherwise…" went Arlene "and if they ask, you're my 'crew'"

"What 'crew'?" went Rally, who pulled a blonde wig off her head and shook her own hair back to shape.

"MY crew…" replied Arlene, snappily. "I already called the real members of my old crew, and they are willing to help. Plus you wont be able to get into that place without me, and I sure as hell cant drive 8 cars at once. I already got your covers sorted, all I need is to have photo's made of you lot in disguise, so Becky's computer software can make the relevant licences."

"Why?" went Misty

"In case he asks to check them. They will register as genuine, thanks to Agent Smith allowing the DMV to put them on file for a few hours" she shook her head, not knowing if she was doing the right thing bringing them on board.

"Now this is SOO me!" May went, looking at herself in the mirror wearing an auburn wig.

"PERFECT!" went Arlene, "that is most definably Chelsea 'sparks' Pool"

Meanwhile, at Bean's garage, Bean was preparing the cars on the list for an outing.

"Let's see, the yenco, check. The dodge, check. My Boss Mustang, check. Oldsmobile, check. 'Cuda, check. Chevelle, check. And finally, the GTO, check."

Bean looked at the cars, and thought 'if this guy so much as scratches any one of my cars…I'll personally beat the dents out using him as the mallet'

All the girls had sorted out their 'disguises' and Becky had used some software on her laptop to prepare the licences.

"Wow, they look real" went Misty, looking at hers

"I still need to laminate them all first…" Becky replied

The sound of a cell phone ringing cut her off.

All the girls looked around, but Arlene pulled the cell phone rally had told her to use out of her pocket and she answered it.

"Hello?" she went

"Ah, Ms Davenport. So glad I got hold of you. I hope you have acquired all my cars in time, as I require them tonight" Ricardo Jones went over the phone.

"Mr Jones…yes I got your cars, but I can't get 8 cars to you on my own by tonight"

"Then I will send some men to you to drive the others. Where are you?"

"Err, no that's alright. If you don't mind, I called my old crew in on this job. They will help me get the cars to you"

"Very well, use them. I am waiting at warehouse 8 on the waterfront docks for you. Be there by 10, no later. There will be 8 large containers waiting for you to place the cars in, and then I will pay you. But remember yours and their fate if you try to deceive me. I can arrange a large watery burial for all of you…" he went, then cut himself off by closing his phone.

"That went well…" Arlene went "looks like you guys are in now for good, so whatever you got planned, I suggest we initiate it now"

"Right" Rally replied, "Time to start phase one"

A convoy of 8 American muscle cars and a massively customised hand-built car was heading along the John F Kennedy expressway towards the waterfront district of Chicago, each one being driven by someone involved with Arlene Davenport in some way.

Arlene made a call to someone en route.

"Agent Smith here, what can I do for you, Ms Davenport?" went a voice on the other end of the cell phone.

"I got the confirmation on the delivery of the cars, Smith. Start tracking me" she replied.

"Don't worry, we have been. Your current location is heading along the J.F.K expressway, towards the old wicker park district" he replied "I will send an unmarked car to your location shortly"

"Excellent" she went "let's get this wrapped up, shall we? I want to get my life back", then hung up the phone.

In the lead car, the young dark haired woman was radioing instructions to the others.

"Yenco to convoy, we are approaching the split off point. Bean, get that tracker out of here" she went

"Roger that" went bean bandit, who was driving the Buffalo with Arlene's tracker bracelet placed next to him on the passenger seat.

The Buffalo went and turned off to the right, away from the direction that the cars were heading in.

"Good hunting, and save some for me, willya?" Bean went into the two-way radio, as he floored the buffalo "I'll rendezvous with you as soon as I swap this to another driver"

"Understood Bean, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of guys left for you, big guy" went Rally into her radio, a little bit worried now that this may not work out as planned.

The Yenco, Cobra, Boss, 'Cuda, Chevelle, Oldsmobile, dodge and Pontiac continued on their journey.

"All set?" Arlene, driving the Yenco, asks her comrades

"I'm ready" the temporarily blonde Rally replied, from her cobra

"Car 3 is go" a nervous sounding short black haired Misty went, driving the Pontiac

"I feel like Thelma and Louise in this car, but I'm ready" went May, who had the convertible Oldsmobile, and a hair scarf on to keep her redhead wig in place

"I'm game, let's get 'em" went Ken, driving the Boss Mustang, who had a long brown dread locked wig on and looked like a biker on a bad day

"Man, I wish I owned this car…" James said, who had the automatic Chevelle

"You sure about this, 'Lene? Can we trust these people?" went Kim, an old 'friend' of Arlene's from her car boosting days, who had a massive distrust for anyone remotely connected with law enforcement, driving the Dodge

"If Arlene trusts them, then that's good enough for me," replied another former 'booster' by the name of Ron, who was secretly smiling at his choice of car, the Hemi 'Cuda

"Yes, I do trust them, Kim. And so should you. Just remember to get out of there when it all kicks off, ALL 3 OF YOU. No heroics" Arlene snapped down the radio.

She was secretly worried about her three friends, as they had only ever gotten involved in petty misdemeanours, not anything like this.

"**Who are these people?"**

The convoy arrived at the rendezvous point at 9.58 pm, and there was no sign of anyone around.

The cars pulled up outside warehouse 8 and stopped.

The lead car, the Yenco, was switched off and the driver got out. The others followed suit.

"HELLO!" she shouted "ANYONE HERE?"

Suddenly the sound of automatic rifles being cocked and loaded filled the air, and a small army of men appeared from hiding places on the rooftops of the warehouses either side, surrounding the convoy of cars.

A door opened slowly on the front of the warehouse, and a shadowy figure slowly emerged, and no one from the group could tell who it was, as there was a very bright pair of lights shining from behind.

"Ms Davenport, so glad you made it, and a few minutes early too…" he went, looking at his gold Rolex.

"…So not needed," muttered Kim, looking around at the gunmen.

"Who are these people?" went Jones, moving slowly forwards.

"They are with me, Mr Jones," replied Arlene nervously.

Ricardo Jones walked slowly towards the group and their cars, flanked by an armed thug on each side.

"HMM, nice choice…" he started " I must admit, you exceeded my expectations. These are some fine examples of these cars, all near mint condition"

He gestured with his hand, and the armed men on the rooftops started to disappear. A small sigh of relief came from a few members of the group.

Jones stopped by the cobra, and Rally, and walked towards the car smiling broadly.

"Now this is one I was expecting you to stumble on, as these are rarely seen around these days…" he went, gently touching the bonnet to feel the heat coming off the Shelby tuned ford power plant.

"All these cars are not standard," replied Rally, who was shaking a little bit with anger that this 'guy' was touching her car.

"And you are?"

"THAT is Cheryl Hawks, a k a 'hotwire' hawks'" went Arlene, walking up towards the cobra and Rally.

"AHH, so this is your famed 'crew'" Jones went, eyeing up Rally.

"Yes, it is. Allow me to introduce you to them." She paused as they came up and stood beside her, and then pointed each one out with their 'false identity', and her real crew.

"Cheryl 'hotwire' hawks, Chelsea 'sparks' pool, Ken 'can' Doo, Erica 'checker' Steele, James 'booster' Bateman, Kim 'storm' Castle and Ron 'the Man' Manning, my crew from the good old days" she went, smiling as if really remembering the 'good old days'

Ricardo Jones stopped and thought for a moment, looking at each one of the people standing in front of him.

"Really" he went, staring hard " I always thought your crew was made up of only 4 people…"

A sudden movement from around the sides of them made the group look round, and the snipers that were on the roof a few moments ago were now surrounding them, automatic weapons at the ready.

"The internet is such a wonderful invention, is it not? I found out all about your famed crew and their exploits from the police main database, there was only ever 4 of you. You were identified as the ringleader; the others got lighter sentences and started their own business repairing cars after they got out. And I recognised this cobra from the other week. It was parked outside my house opposite the main gates…" he went, "I had the plates checked with the DMV computer, and it is registered to a miss Irene 'Rally' Vincent, a bounty hunter and gun shop owner."

The men with the automatic weapons started to move in.

"Search them, then bind them securely and place them in the spare shipping crate…" he went with anger in his tone of voice, "I told you I won't be deceived, Ms Davenport. Now you and your friends will die, slowly, as you all drown in lake Michigan in a freak container 'accident' and I still get my cars, only now I don't have to pay you for them" a smile crept across Jones' face as he said that, as this was his preferred method of 'disposing' of people.

The gunmen put the entire group up against the sides of a shipping container, patting them down, removing their disguises and weapons, and then tying their hands tightly behind their backs.

Meanwhile, Bean Bandit had swapped the tracker to another driver outside of Chicago, and was heading for the rendezvous point at high speed, the buffalo effortlessly coping with such a situation with ease.

He arrived at the waterfront warehouse a few minutes later. He left the buffalo at the entrance to the docks and walked, with a big pair of binoculars and his assortment of knives hidden in his Kevlar reinforced jacket, just in time to watch the men with guns pat down, strip and disarm his 'comrades' before tying their hands up behind their backs.

The group was frogmarched into an open container, while the remaining men started to load the cars into the other crates, removing their plates and then hoisting them up to the container ship.

Also other containers were being unloaded as a black limousine pulled up to the same location.

Inside the container, Rally, May, Misty, Arlene, Ken, Kim, Ron and James looked out at the scene being played out in front of them, whilst another man tied their ankles together with rope.

"I'm sorry I got you all involved in this" went Arlene, " I never wanted this to happen"

"Were not done yet," replied Rally, "there's still hope"

Bean saw the situation, and decided on a course of action.

He threw a small Bowie knife from his location at the nearest guard, who suddenly fell forward as the knife hit him with deadly accuracy.

The big man snuck forward, pulling another knife out from his coat and throwing it at another guard. The guard screamed as the knife went in and he fell into the water.

The dockyard turned to chaos as the sound made the other men panic. Jones looked around for some means of escape. He jumped into the nearest car not loaded yet, the Yenco. The black limousine pulled away at speed, it's passengers not knowing what was going on.

The inside of the crate turned to fear and panic, and Kim capitalised on this. Her feet had not yet been tied so she swept her legs out and tripped the guard over. He fell, and started to get back up, but Kim beat him to standing up, and let loose with a devastating spinning martial arts kick, knocking the guard unconscious.

Arlene had a look of shock on her face.

"I never knew you could do that…" she went, as Kim jumped over her own hands to bring them round to her front.

Kim just smiled, then bent down and started to untie Misty, who had been placed next to her.

"My Dad insisted I learn some self defence, you know…in case I got attacked or something" she went.

Misty was free now, and she undid Kim's hands.

The two girls started to untie all the ropes holding their friends, while outside was a disaster area.

Bean had used a gun from the first guard to take out a few others, and then had to use his jacket as a shield when they returned fire, the bullets just embedding themselves in the Kevlar plates.

A few brave (or foolish) men got closer to Bean, who was crouched under his jacket.

Bean stood up to his full height, and the men dropped their weapons and ran at the shock of the sheer size of him.

He sent them a few goodbye presents in the form of throwing knives, each one taking out a runner with pinpoint precision.

He barrelled his way through the few remaining men using his big fists and knives, until he reached the docking area, hardly scratched, but breathing heavily.

An automatic rifle sounded from inside the crate, and then a familiar face appeared holding it in the doorway, Rally.

**Yenco Vs Mustang**

The Yenco screamed off from the dockside, blasting past Bean bandit with inches to play with.

"MY YENCO!" he yelled, and then turned to see what was left.

Rally took the situation in hand, and told the others what they were to do.

"MISTY, KEEP THESE GUYS COVERED, I'M GOING AFTER JONES" she went, passing the big gun to her, and removed a small Westinghouse semi-auto handgun that she took from the guard from her inside jacket pocket.

The others disarmed a few guards and pointed their newly acquired firepower at the other men.

The remaining men surrendered without a fight.

Bean jumped into his highly modified Boss Mustang, fired it up and was about to go after his other car, when Rally climbed in the passenger side and went "I got shotgun"

"Hold on tight then, it's goanna be one hell of a trip!"

Bean Bandit slammed the mustang into 2nd gear and the car lurched as he engaged the supercharger from a standing start, sending clouds of white tire smoke everywhere as it took off after the Yenco.

"This is goanna be tough…" Bean went "that Yenco can snap a quarter mile in under 10 seconds. I should know, I made it capable of doing that."

"What do you suggest then, Bean?" Rally asked, looking at him.

"Simple. I out drive and out manoeuvre him. It can only do that with a capable driver at the wheel. And I'm the best baby!"

The Yenco and the Mustang headed out onto Grand Avenue, through the heart of Chicago and it's bustling nightlife, at breakneck speeds. Ricardo Jones, showing that he was no Sunday driver, threw the Yenco around corners at 80 mph, using the handbrake and accelerator to power slide around. Through narrow side streets hitting 100 mph on straights, going the wrong way up a one way street, causing traffic to swerve and avoid him, with Bean holding onto his tail lights all the way.

'Damn, this guys better than I thought' he went to himself, all the time concentrating on keeping up.

"What do I have to do to lose you?" screamed Ricardo to his rear view mirror, narrowly avoiding hitting a stationary taxi by swerving out into the other side of the road and cutting back in, then hand braking the car and turning 90 degrees to the left, towards the Chicago tilt bridge that crosses the river.

The operator of the bridge was setting the controls to raise the bridge, as a large masted boat was approaching and needed access. The warning lights started to flash, the barriers started to lower and the bridges massive hydraulics came to life, starting to raise the main roadway up. A few cars stopped at the warning barrier, but a couple of cars were heading towards the bridge too fast to stop.

The bridge was only up at an angle of 20 degrees when Ricardo Jones and the Yenco went blasting through the barrier at 115 mph, the massive old car hurtling towards the raising roadway. The operator saw this and hit the emergency brake, causing the bridge to stop where it was. Up the angled roadway went the Yenco and over the top of the bridge, the car heading skywards for a few brief seconds before heading for the ground again.

The car landed with a bang and hit the other side of the road with such force the front air dam, grille and bumper were ripped off, and the underside of the car got a massive shock from the impact. The axle got a shock and buckled under the stress, snapping a few securing bolts holding the axle to the chassis. But still it kept going, it's driver not even looking back.

Bean saw the stunt pulled by the Yenco and looked at Rally.

"HOLD ON TO YOUR ARSE!" he went, and then flipped the top of the gear stick open to reveal a red button. Bean floored the Mustang and hit the red button.

The engine received a shot of nitrous oxide into its fuel mix, and the car gained even more speed than it had, hitting the bridge at 135 mph, leaping the gap like a gazelle would leap a small log.

Bean gripped the steering wheel in anticipation of the landing, Rally grabbed onto the handle above the passenger door with both hands.

The Mustang landed hard on its front end, jerking the wheels out of their normal driving positions, the front air dam getting pushed up and under the car, the shocks getting blown out by the impact. The rear of the car hit just as hard, sending a jolt through the transmission and clutch, blowing the car out of gear and breaking the overdrive.

The police had reports about a couple of cars racing through Chicago, and the route the cars were most probably headed for cleared for their arrival.

The Yenco was first to turn right and head into Randolph St, the car severely crippled by the jump and not responding as it should. A carpet of tire spikes were thrown in front of the car and the tires popped, causing it to go into a spin and slam into a telephone box before hitting a newsstand and stopping, it's engine giving out from all the abuse it suffered.

Beans' mustang was next into Randolph St, but Bean saw the commotion and stopped the car way back from it all. Rally looked at Bean and went "thanks for all your help, Bean. Now get out of here before they get you"

Bean just smirked "hah, they couldn't catch me in an AMC Pacer on one of my bad days."

Rally leant over and gave bean a quick peck on the cheek before getting out and running down the road towards the police roadblock.

"That guy's mine…!" she shouted as she ran towards the officers, pulling her bounty hunters licence out.

Bean smiled to himself, and thought 'we'd make a good team, Vincent' before turning His crippled mustang around and heading for a Bean Bandit safe garage to stash and swap cars.

**Broken promises?**

A few days after the chase through Chicago, Rally Vincent, May Hopkins and Arlene Davenport were at Chicago central police station, with a very upset chief Anderson and an angry FBI Agent Smith and a frustrated ATF Agent Collins.

"DO YOU REALISE HOW DANGEROUS THAT LITTLE STUNT WAS?"

Went Agent Smith, pulling his sunglasses off in a temper.

"We had the chance to catch Jones red handed, and you decide to play vigilante and lead my team AWAY from the location with your little trick. I have a very good mind to send ALL 3 OF YOU TO PRISON, you for deception and you two for aiding and abetting…" he went, pointing his finger at each one of them. His tone was very menacing, and he meant every word of it.

Agent Smith took a deep breath, then recovered his composure and straitened off his tie.

"…However, seeing as there was all the evidence waiting for us at the dockside, a big consignment of high grade cocaine in another container for evidence that you stopped from reaching the streets, a large shipment of illegal unmarked firearms as well as his gang already in custody, and also as he is now having countless dangerous driving and traffic violations added to his list of charges, my superiors have decided not to press formal charges against you."

The three girls breathed a small sigh of relief.

"What about the reward?" asked Rally quietly

Agent Smith looked at her and replied "you will get it, minus the cost of all the damages caused to city property and a portion being donated to the local police officers retirement fund, for all their help in this matter. That still leaves you with $300,000 for yourselves."

"Thank you" goes Arlene

Chief Anderson chirps in "Ms Davenport. The courts are still deciding your fate on this matter. DON'T leave town or you will be a fugitive again. If you stay clean and help us out as best you can, then I'm sure they will add that in your favour"

Arlene just nodded her head.

Agent Bill Collins removed his cigarette from his mouth and added, "You did good…kittens. Just make sure you don't do it again. I'd hate to have to do another audit on your store again" he went while smirking, pointing his finger at Rally like a gun

Rally glared at Bill with hate in her eyes

The three girls get up and leave slowly.

Agent Smith follows them out of the office, and walks with them.

"One thing still puzzles me…" he goes "where did you get all the cars from, as not one of them was reported as stolen. Come to think of it, not one of them had a genuine plate or identifiable mark on them. Are they clones, or chop shops?"

Arlene just smiles at agent Smith "Aw come on Smith, I'm not going to tell you ALL my secrets now, am I?" then winks at him "I'll see you around sometime"

The three girls head out of the station towards rally's cobra, parked in the middle of the cruisers and carts.

"So" goes Rally "what are you going to do now then, Arlene?"

"I haven't got a clue, but it's going to be honest from now on. I think the car booster in me has said goodnight for good now"

They get in the cobra, and it heads downtown towards Rally's house.

"Rally…" May goes " didn't you say that you needed help in the shop? You know, to look after the counter and clean?" May nudges rally with her elbow, to emphasise the point.

" I suppose I could use the extra help, if you want it that is Arlene. And you can stay with us until you find a place of your own" Rally went, knowing she had been cajoled into it.

"REALLY? You mean it? Wow! You guys are the best!" she went, smiling and hugging her from behind the seats of the cobra.

"GERROFF! I'm driving!" rally retorted, making the cobra go erratic for a few seconds as Arlene let go.

The girls arrived back at Rally's house, Arlene with a smile on her face, and Rally and May feeling just as relieved as they all got out of the Cobra

"$100,000 split 4 ways, that's $25,000 each for me and Kim, Ron and James" she went, kissing the check in her hand "I just wish I could repay you guys for all your kindness and friendship you showed me, even after what I did to you a while back. I am really sorry and hope I can be able to call myself your friend one day, like I think of you as mine"

Rally smiles, then replies "if you stay out of trouble, so I don't have to hunt you down again, then that's reward enough"

May turned and stood with her back to Arlene, and then folds her arms.

"May?" goes Arlene

May swings around on her heels, and has a smile on her face "'course I forgive you…" she went, unfolding her arms and giving her a hug " shoot me again and I blow you up. Deal?"

"DEAL" went Arlene, smiling and returning the hug.

A small beeping noise was heard as they walked into the house, Rally's answering machine had a message on it.

She pressed play, and Bean Bandit's voice came out of it.

"Rally, it's Bean. Call me when you get back. Someone owes me a few cars and I want them back. They are being held in a police impound yard on outer harbour. Either I get my cars back, or I get compensation for their loss. UNDERSTOOD?"

Arlene stood in the doorway with a look of horror on her face, then turned around and went back out the door towards her car.

"Where are you off?" called May.

"To get my crew, I gotta get his cars back before he kills me!" she shouted back, as the CRX roared into life and wheel spun out of the driveway.

May looked towards Rally.

"FORGET IT! I don't want to know!" she goes, and then heads to the kitchen to start dinner.

May turns and closes the front door.

"Here we go again," she says to herself.

The end 

_Will Arlene turn out to be more trouble than May or Misty? Gunsmith Cats will return in another fanfic soon!_


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